Published on: Sunday, May 10, 2009 |
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) has drawn up short and long-term programmes to meet current and long-term demand as well as improve the quality of services in Sabah.
These programmes require RM8.5billion and SESB is striving to get financial assistance from the Government for the implementation of an integrated development master plan that encompasses the generation, delivery and distribution system for the State.
These programmes are divided into three components, namely generation, delivery and distribution, its Corporate Communications Manager Chendramata Hj. Sinteh, said in a statement, Saturday.
Some of these have already been completed while others are either being implemented or still in the planning stage.
She said Sabah needed a high-capacity power station for the East Coast to replace the small and old diesel-powered generating sets to balance the electricity supply system in the State.
Delay in implementing these projects have resulted in shortage of generating capacity as presently faced by SESB.
To solve the generation shortage, SESB has taken steps by purchasing 20 generating sets (1MW each) as well as enforcing load shedding during peak hours.
SESB also received good co-operation from the big companies which have their own generating sets, which has managed to minimise the load shedding.
For generation development, SESB has implemented a "planting-up programme" to fulfil demand up to 2020. However the Independent Power Producers (IPP) had been experiencing a delay in implementing the project.
Among the projects completed since 2007 were the generating set at IPP Ranhil Powertron 1 Power Station (Teluk Salut) with the capability of 70megawatts (MW) and IPP Sepanggar Power Corporation Station (100MW), the Small Renewable Energy Power - Biomass (SREP) by IPP Kina Biopower and Seguntor Bioenergy (each 10 MW).
An additional increase of about 190MW into the SESB generation system is still insufficient to meet increasing demand. Besides, many existing SESB and IPP generating sets are old and experiencing frequent breakdowns.
Currently, the IPP Ranhill Powertron 2 Station with capability of 190MW is under construction and one set with the capacity of 65MW is expected to be completed by end of this year and the remaining 125MW will be completed next year.
SESB is also in the middle of an engineering study for the Upper Padas Hydro Project with capacity of 150MW, which is targeted to commence operation in 2017. The Liwagu Hydro Project (150MW) on the other hand is targeted for completion in 2018.
The Mini-Hydro and Solar Hybrid projects for rural areas are presently rapidly implemented. However, the new IPP projects in Kimanis and the East Coast are now at the planning/discussion stage and facing delay due to certain issues.
